


in the next room

by misslou



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Clubbing, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson are Neighbors, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, One Night Stands, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-12 23:21:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5685463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misslou/pseuds/misslou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is tired of his apartment neighbor having loud sex while he's trying to sleep. He knows that the only way to get back at him is to play his own game. Harry is sick of the nights spent with girls whose names he can't remember, but is even more sick of his neighbor desperately trying to get back at him. When a confrontation ensues, romance buds.</p><p>Based on the song In the Next Room by Neon Trees</p>
            </blockquote>





	in the next room

_Oh, I lose control._

_When I hear your body move_

_Through the walls_

_Of the next room_

\---

Louis’s eyes flashed open as yet another moan sounded from the other side of his wall. He couldn’t control the heavy eyeroll that followed, and the melodramatic turn from laying on his back to his right side, kicking up his sheets in the process. It was the third night this _week_ that his neighbor had brought home someone from a late night on the town and proceeded to have wild sex, _clearly_ not considering the fact that it was a ridiculous hour and that there was an irritated neighbor just on the other side of his bedroom wall. Louis had heard everything from moans, headboard bangs, various names being shouted, and even the occasional smack. As much as Louis was all for exotic entertainment, listening to vivid sex through the wall was not something he was exactly interested in. 

Louis managed to catch a glimpse of the bright red numbers of his alarm clock from the end table as he turned. _3:14 A.M._ Louis had work in the morning. He had work at precisely 8:00 in the morning, and hadn’t managed to get an ounce of sleep that night. His neighbor had brought his partner home at approximately 1:30 A.M, clumsily slamming into the walls as they got handsy. Louis was just beginning to crawl into his bed when he had heard this, and knew exactly that it was the beginning of yet another fun night for his neighbor. At around 2:00 A.M is when they move to the bedroom, making audible noises and clunks as they did _God_ knows what. Louis didn’t like to imagine it. 

Louis liked sex just as much as the next guy. He was never interested in a committed relationship. He was completely fine with going to bars, getting drunk off his ass, and then picking up a pretty face for a night. He’d be lying if he hadn’t brought a few home to his room, and tried to be as loud as possible to get back at his neighbor. It was childish, sure, but it was the best way Louis knew how to get his revenge. He didn’t plan on keeping in touch with his partners anyways, and couldn’t remember half of their faces. They were in it for the same reason he was - for a good time. 

Louis sighed heavily as he heard a very loud _‘Oh baby, yeah!’_ from the male who was his neighbor. From what he had heard from various groans and shouts, he had a rather deep and gravelly voice. Louis didn’t remember what his face looked like. He had ran into him once in the apartment elevator, and silently walked alongside him as they travelled to their doors. All he could really remember is that his hair was rather long and that he had a cross tattoo on his hand. 

Throughout the nights, Louis had heard the man voice shout various names such as Olivia, Jasmine, Daisy… even a _Jake._ Louis couldn’t help but laugh when he heard that one. He knew everything about his neighbor’s sex life and he didn’t even know the guy, nor did he want to. All he wanted was some sleep, which was very hard to obtain with all the constant shouting. 

Louis was very tempted to bang his fist on the wall, but knew that he would likely get no results from that. He instead brought the blanks over his body and tucked his head underneath the pillow, tightly shutting his eyes in hopes for falling into sleep. He knew he would be tired at work in the morning, and would fume about it later. He bet that his neighbor didn’t even have a job. He wondered if his neighbor did anything else than party and have sex. He could potentially be Louis’s best friend if he wasn’t such an asshole for not being quiet in of the slightest. 

Louis knew he wasn’t asleep, but kept his eyes closed until the sounds settled down at about 4:00 in the morning. His mind was a repetitive stream of curse words being thrown at his neighbor, and telling himself that he’s going to be tired in the morning. He thought about calling in sick, but knew his boss wouldn’t be too primarily ecstatic about that. Louis had called in sick too much already. He’d have to tough out his shift whether he liked it or not. 

With a sigh of relief, Louis quickly began to slip into slumber to the sounds of silence as his neighbor’s eventful night came to an end. Silence had never felt so soothing before in his life. He took the pillow out from over his ears and brought it around to the front of his torso, holding it tightly with his arms. He found that he could fall asleep easier when he had something to hold onto. A pillow was more comforting than a sweaty, post-sex drunk person anyways. 

Within moments, the silence consumed Louis and granted him a well-deserved sleep. 

\---

Harry blinked open his eyes to the sunlight filtering in through his bedroom window. His room was lit with the subtle natural light, the pattern of his windowpane shining on his wrinkled bedsheets. He turned his head and found the right side of it empty. Harry thought nothing of it. He didn’t bring partners home to keep, he brought them home to ease his otherwise lonely night. Sure, he had a good night last night, but there was no need in keeping them around any longer, and they knew that. They would wake up, pick their clothes up off the floor of Harry’s bedroom, and exit. Harry would wake up, find that he was alone in the bed, and sigh a sigh of relief. Every once and awhile he would deal with the few that would want to stay, and would quickly break it to them that the one night stand was in fact a one night stand.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, tearing out a few knots from his bedhead. He didn’t recollect many memories of the night before. He couldn’t even remember what the girl looked like. He thought she had blonde hair, but the thought of her having brown hair was just as plausible. No matter the description, she was gone, and Harry would probably never see her again. With a sharp exhale, Harry kicked off what was left of the sheets on his legs and climbed out of bed. 

Harry’s head hurt from the alcohol consumption he had ingested the previous night. Harry was never one for wanting to be drunk off his ass, and particularly didn’t care for the taste of strong liquor, but every once and awhile would take a few more drinks than he needed to. Nothing that caused him to pass out or throw up, but sometimes enough to cause him to loop around clumsily and find girls more attractive than what they actually were. 

Harry stumbled to his bathroom and lazily flicked on the lights. He looked at himself in the mirror and raised his eyebrows in a semi-amusing, semi-disappointed in himself way. His hair was messy, his typically bouncy curls strung with knots. His green eyes were weary and glazed with sleepiness, and held shadows underneath them. He snickered as he saw a small hickey on his collarbone, a memory of the girl he couldn’t remember. He had various scratch marks across his chest, parts of them disappearing behind his tattoos of two swallows. Harry shook his head. He knew his lifestyle had to change, but he was twenty-one and in the prime of his life. It was practically initiation to the adult lifestyle to have a year of partying and loose living. He’d stop eventually. The morning-after usually hit him hard, giving him a sense of disappointment as he gazed as his strung self in the mirror. He’d always hop in the shower in hopes to wash away the memories of the night before. 

With a sigh, Harry turned on the shower and hopped inside. He let the warm water run down his face, collecting on his chin, and streaming down to his torso. He shut his eyes, enveloping himself in the warmth of the water and the comfort of the steam. Maybe it was good that he forgot about half the people he’s slept with. He’s been told his whole life that catching feelings is bad and that it will only lead to more pain. Sex is pleasure, feelings are pain. 

Harry spent about thirty minutes underneath the stream of the water, feeling a calmness about him as it trickled down his back and soaked through his hair. He felt clean after his showers, like a totally different person than who he was during the night. Upon exiting the shower, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked back to his bedroom. 

Harry moved in front of his bedroom window. He enjoyed how high his complex was. His apartment was about ten stories high, overlooking the streets of Hampstead. He could see that it was a gray, dreary day outside, and could see a few brightly colored umbrellas in the streets below. Harry had no intentions of leaving his home that day. He didn’t have work until the next day, and took the initiative to have a day to himself. He wouldn’t even go out and party in the nighttime. Today was a day for Harry’s relaxation, and that alone. 

Harry moved over to his dresser drawer, lazily managing to find a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He took his time when dressing himself, glancing at his alarm clock and reading the time as 2:04 PM. He would’ve been done with his morning shift at the bakery by this point. Harry sometimes preferred the early mornings because he felt as if he got more done that way. Nothing beat a good restful sleep until the afternoon hours, but Harry couldn’t help but feel as if he had wasted most of his day like that. 

Now-clothed Harry paced back to the bathroom to hang his towel on the hook. He turned to the mirror, scrunching his wet hair with his fingers. His hair was something Harry took a lot of pride in. He never told many people that he sometimes blow-dried and curled it on certain occasion. He thought they’d think lesser of him if he told. 

Harry meandered back through his apartment to the kitchen, his stomach growling as he craved for something to eat. He knew that the only thing that lay in his cupboards were cereal, graham crackers, and ramen noodles. Harry had been living off of ramen noodles for the past three years, ever since he moved out. Reluctantly, Harry caved in to making himself another bowl. 

After a cook time of about five minutes, Harry sat down at his dining room table with his steaming bowl of ramen. He couldn’t help but think back to the last night and feel some sort of guilt for it. He had made passionate love to someone that he couldn’t even remember. His mom had always told him that intimacy is important in a relationship and should only be given to those who mean a lot to his heart. He knew sex was one of the greatest forms of physical intimacy there was, and he was out giving it to any willing soul in the clubs. It bothered him, but he knew he’d be at it the next night. 

With a sigh, Harry settled down to eat his ramen. 

\---

“How ‘bout you come home with me?” 

Louis could barely hear himself over the pulsating bass of the song that played overhead in the club speakers. He was buzzed with a few shots, and was squinting against the vibrant flashing lights as he tried to hook up with the nearest pretty face he could find. Louis was tired. He had suffered through work, had a sleep-deprived headache for most of the day, and was itching to have a good night again. It had been a few weeks since his last hook-up. He had come to the club purely to pick up a girl to have loud sex with so Harry could hear every detail. 

The girl Louis was talking to was not his type in any sort. She was short, with dyed blonde hair and bright pink makeup painted on her face. She had a low-cut shirt that almost completely exposed her chest, which Louis wasn’t even the slightest a bit phased by. He wasn’t the kind of guy to drool over a good body of a girl. In all honestly, Louis didn’t care about body type at _all_. He wasn’t even sure if he was tied down to just liking girls. 

The blonde battered her eyelashes at Louis’s pick-up line. She held a glass of a drink that Louis wasn’t even sure of, and quickly washed it down before replying. “Of course,” she said with a sensual wink. Louis wasn’t turned on, but put on a good act of pretending. The girl turned to place her glass on the bar before Louis grabbed her hand and led her out of the club. 

The night outside was cold, and Louis’s breath billowed around his face in the air. He quickly glanced upwards at the night sky, the stars unseen behind the thick cloud cover. The girl hung on his shoulder like some sort of orphaned ape. Louis hated it, but was determined to make his neighbor know what it felt like for him. Louis tried his best to ignore her as he hailed a taxi, quickly piling in and instructing the driver on where to go. 

Louis gulped as the girl ran her hand down his inner thigh. He _hated_ it, and felt stupid with every passing moment he stayed next to her. He could feel her suggestive glances burning into the side of his head, and blinked as her other hand grabbed the fingers that were gripped onto her waist. 

The ride from the club to the apartment complex couldn’t have lasted any longer. Louis paid the driver with the money he could find, knowing that he might’ve overpaid just a slight bit. The sooner he started the night, the sooner he could end it. He led the girl through the doors of the complex, into the elevator, and eventually up to his room. 

The blonde, whose name Louis couldn’t remember, wasted no time before locking her lips onto his in the darkness of his living room. Her breath smelled strongly of alcohol, and her lips tasted like strong liquor. Even Louis hated the taste of strong alcohol, and was trying his best not to cringe as he was forced to taste her lipstick-stained lips. Her small body pressed into his, almost knocking him to the floor as she slipped her tongue into his mouth. Louis wanted to throw up. 

Louis led the girl through his apartment in an array of forced kisses until he got to the bedroom. He gave a sideways glance at the clock as he removed his coat, his lips still attached to the girl. _2:03 A.M. Perfect._ Louis was suddenly filled with the strength of determination as he thought about the sleep he had lost the night before due to his neighbor’s nonsense. _This bloke is going to get a taste of his own sick medicine._ Louis quickly got to business, wanting to get right to the part where he was going to get loud. He knew the girl didn’t care; she was too horny and drunk to even think twice. 

Louis wasted no time in laying down the girl. He didn’t bother kissing her again, afraid he was going to get drunk just from the alcohol on her breath. Louis felt the slightest bit guilty as he began to have sex with the nameless girl. He’d never see her again after tonight. He was practically using her as a sick joke with his neighbor. Sure, Louis fooled around, but he fooled around with girls who he genuinely liked. He never really ever knew if it was the alcohol that spoke for him. 

Louis moaned, forcing it to be louder than normal. What he was doing right now was almost funny to him. He knew his neighbor could hear. In love with the feeling of revenge, Louis moaned louder. He rammed his headboard against the wall, grinning as he made a loud noise against the wall. For the next hour, Louis did nothing but moan, grunt, and shout. He was more satisfied with the ruckus he had caused than the sex itself. The blonde didn’t even bother spending the night. When things were all said and done, she got dressed and slipped out the door while Louis burned a cigarette. 

Louis inhaled the strong taste of the cigarette as he leaned up against his bedroom window. The streets were wet with recent rain, reflecting the streetlights in small puddles. Louis tapped his cigarette on the nearby ashtray, furrowing his brows as he watched the city streets below. Even at nearing 3:00 in the morning, cars still slowly drove by and people could still be seen walking the streets. Louis gazed out the window until his cigarette was out, then promptly crawling into bed. He was more than satisfied with himself. His throat was hoarse from the shouting he had done. His neighbor must’ve heard. He wished for a second his was friends with his neighbor just to get his reaction. 

Louis lingered on the taste of his cigarette on his breath before closing his eyes and managing to swim past his thoughts into sleep.

\---

Louis kept at his game for a few weeks. Every other night he’d bring a girl home, have loud sex, then never see them again. He was amused at his neighbor’s retaliations. One night, Louis and his neighbor were going at it at the same time, competing for who could be louder. Louis had realized that he wasn’t even in it for the pleasure of sex anymore. He was in it for pure spite. 

Was it right? Giving sex to people who didn’t mean anything to him? Louis thought so, but the idea of bitterness between him and his neighbor kept driving him forward. He was somewhat waiting for some sort of confrontation. 

The confrontation came, eventually. 

Louis had just finished his game piece for the night. She was a tall redhead with freckles splattered all across her face. Louis was burning his nightly cigarette, gazing out the window onto the city lights below when he heard a angered pounding at his door. He was confused, firstly, as to who exactly would be knocking down his door at such an early hour. Then, it dawned on him. 

_The neighbor!_

Louis grinned to himself, laying his cigarette in the ashtray and quickly tossing on some clothes. He was eager to see the face of his neighbor. He pictured it in his mind; angry, tired, irritable. Everything that he was when he neighbor had kept him awake. Everything he wanted to give back. Louis could not get to the door fast enough and swing it open to meet the face of his unseen enemy. 

_Oh._

The face staring back at Louis was enough to make him widen his eyes in shock. The man, his neighbor, was taller than Louis by a good amount. His hair was longer than what he last remembered it to be, and elegantly fell along his shoulders. His hands were folded behind his back, and he had one eyebrow raised up in suspicion. The neighbor didn’t look mad at all, but instead, rather amused. 

Louis would be lying if he said the man didn’t look the slightest bit attractive. 

The neighbor’s jaw was outlined in the shadows of the nighttime, and his pink lips were pursed in a pretentious facial expression. His eyes were pooled with darkness, but Louis could faintly make out a sage green color in them. He suddenly felt the embarrassment pool into his cheeks as he stared back at the face he wanted to see twisted in anger. The embarrassment quickly turned to hatred when the reaction given wasn’t the reaction wanted. Louis opened his mouth to speak. 

“I hope you’ve fucking lost sleep,” Louis snapped, taken aback when the neighbor grinned a sideways smirk. “Do not fucking smile! I hope I’ve made you have restless nights! I’m given back what you-” 

Louis was cut off as the man pushed Louis back through his own doorway. He felt his cheeks redden. What the fuck? Louis wanted to protest, but his heart was beating too fast for him to say anything. He could see a drunkenness glazed over in his neighbor’s eyes - his neighbor’s gloriously green, beautiful eyes that seemed to twinkle with the city lights peeking in front outside. Louis suddenly felt small and vulnerable as his gazed stayed locked onto the stranger in front of him. 

“Did you hear me?” Louis tried snapping again as the man closed the door behind him. “I said, I hope you-” 

Louis was cut off as his lips brushed against his neighbor’s. 

It was nothing he could’ve predicted. It was nothing he could’ve even guessed would happen. The neighbor, whose name Louis didn’t even know, hadn’t even said a word before pulling Louis into a sensual kiss. Louis was caught off-guard from how passionate and deep the kiss was. The neighbor tasted of a mix of different alcohols, along with a spike of mint on his breath. His lips were soft against Louis’s. Louis shivered a bit as his hand ran his fingers through his hair, eventually rolling into a fist and forcefully grabbing his hair. Louis couldn’t help but feel turned on. The way the man carried himself with such confidence and pride made Louis want to fight him, but kissing him was the more dreamy alternative. The man was beautiful, anyways. 

Louis quickly pulled away, breathless at how close their faces were and how the neighbor’s green eyes were soon filled with lust and desire. “Wait,” Louis breathed, his voice in a raspy whisper. “I didn’t catch your name.” 

“Harry,” the neighbor whispered into Louis’s agape mouth before taking his breath with another long kiss. 

\---

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

Harry had no idea what he was doing. The last thing he really remembered was drinking a bottle of something he had peeled the label off of, listening to his neighbor have wild sex with yet another girl. He knew his neighbor’s name was Louis, and he had for years ever since he had ran into him in an elevator. He had asked him his name, and the way it rolled off his tongue so gracefully was enough to make Harry want to see him again. Unfortunately, he rarely ever saw him. Harry was sure that Louis didn’t care enough to remember him. Every time he glanced at him Louis would never return the gaze. 

Louis was beautiful, and Harry had thought that for ages. Louis’s hair was messy almost always, blowing around in the wind and tossing it in front of his face. Harry had gotten a good look at Louis’s lovely blue eyes in the elevator. They were the color of a forget-me-not. He was short - shorter than Harry - and had a few tattoos on his arms. Harry had studied Louis. Louis hadn’t given Harry the time of day. 

Until tonight. 

Harry pressed his lips against Louis’s, inhaling the scent of smoke on his breath and the taste of whiskey on his tongue. Louis kissed Harry with so much desire, like he had been searching for an intimate moment for the longest of times. Harry had been too. He had been through too many hookups with no feeling. For the first time, Harry felt something. He felt like his world around him spun in slow-motion as he brought Louis closer to him, his hand locked onto the back of his head. 

Harry picked Louis up, not daring to break the kiss. Louis was surprisingly easy to pick up. Harry was still shocked that he was even in the situation in the first place. Louis was someone who Harry had admired. What drove him to bang down his door and surprise him with a kiss was unknown, but Harry was so glad he did. Louis tasted like adventure and lust, and it was everything Harry desired. 

Harry laid down Louis on his own bed. He looked so small lying underneath him. His t-shirt was wrinkled, part of it rolled up to expose his soft tummy. His blue eyes were indigo in the darkness, and Harry could see the redness across his cheeks. Harry, all at once, was filled with infatuation for the boy. He had never felt the feeling inside of him ever before; not with any girl or occasional guy. Louis had been the only person in history to draw the sense of need out of him. 

Harry loomed over Louis, drawing his face temptingly close to the other’s. Louis watched him with half-opened eyes, fixed on the movement of Harry’s mouth. Harry could feel the heat pulsating from the boy. He could feel the hot breath against his neck as he watched Louis fidget underneath his body. He was too cute when he was flustered. Harry knew he wasn’t like this often. 

Harry sloppily bent back down to clash with Louis’s lips. Their kisses went from passionate to sensual in no time at all. Before Harry knew it, he was biting Louis’s lip and shivering at his reaction before moving down to his neck and collarbone, biting and sucking while leaving small marks dotted along his skin. Louis writhed, unable to control his overwhelming feeling of need. Harry smirked as Louis ran his fingers through his long hair, gripping at it and making small whines as Harry bit gently on the skin of his neck. 

Harry was perfect at being the controlling type. He enjoyed feeling his partner move beneath him, moaning and grunting as Harry did his own thing. Nothing was as hot as it being Louis, although. The way Louis threw his head back, mouth agape, and eyes tightly shut made Harry feel so much more strongly. The way Louis tightly gripped the bedsheets, buckling his hips upward as Harry toyed with him, breathing obscenities; everything was so attractive. Harry was madly attracted to him. When Louis moaned through the walls, Harry couldn’t help but feel the pain that Louis was once again with a partner that was not Harry. Finally, tonight, Louis was his. 

Louis was all his. 

Harry had never made more passionate love than he had that night, with Louis moaning and writhing underneath him. Harry spent his time pressed against Louis’s body, feeling the heat from his breath hot on his neck and the deep scratches that Louis’s nails were making on his bare back. The two were loud; louder than they had ever been in their silly competition, their two voices merging together into one. 

When it was all over, Harry couldn’t feel his legs, or anything for that matter. He was at a loss for breath. The sight of Louis as Harry rolled out from over top of him made him want to hold him tightly against his chest. Louis looked small and vulnerable, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths and his forehead glistening with sweat. Harry smiled at him, meeting Louis’s blue gaze. 

“What’re you smiling about?” Louis breathed, smiling widely as Harry laid back down beside him. He fit perfectly into the curve of Harry’s torso, his head pressed against his chest as his heartbeat drummed in his ear. 

“Nothin’,” Harry murmured, resting his chin atop Louis’s head. His fingers lightly traced the boy’s back. It felt so natural, like he had known him for years. Well - they had known each other for years, just unknowingly. Louis never knew about all the times Harry had watched him walk through the complex lobby, beanie on his head and cell phone in his hands. Louis never knew about the times Harry logged about him in journal, entries about how cute his outfit was and how desperately Harry wanted to talk to him but was too afraid to. All Louis knew about Harry was that he was loud during sex. 

“You wanna know something?” Harry spoke in his low-toned voice. “Why I was keeping you up at night?” 

Louis grinned, wrapping his arms around Harry. 

“I was looking for something to fill the void,” Harry mumbled, his voice seeping with sleepiness. “Remember that time? In the elevator?” 

“Yeah,” Louis breathed in reply. 

“From then on I knew that the only one I could ever picture myself being happy with was you,” Harry said, his fingers continuing to trace the soft skin of Louis’s back. “I know that sounds stupid, but I just knew. I knew I’d run into you again.”

“Why didn’t you do it sooner?” Louis said with a smile, glancing up to meet Harry’s glistening green gaze. 

Harry held Louis’s eyes. “I was scared. I tried to be loud so you’d come bangin’ on my door.” 

“Guess it was quite the opposite,” Louis said amusingly, clinging to Harry’s warmth as he held. 

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Harry confessed, closing his eyes. “Hearing you… I was a little drunk and I guess that pushed me to come over here and kiss you.” 

Louis was quiet, listening to the comfort of Harry’s heartbeat. 

“Promise me you won’t leave before the morning?” Louis asked raspily, holding on to Harry as tight as he possibly could. 

Harry planted a soft kiss on Louis’s head. 

“I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> did this in one sitting ^^;; 
> 
> working on a large larry fic, but i had this idea in the shower and i had to do it real quick haha


End file.
